Report: Venezuela Has 20 Tons of Gold Ready to Ship, Address Unknown

Official with central bank ties makes bombshell claim

Venezuelan lawmaker Jose Guerra dropped a bombshell on Twitter Tuesday: The Russian Boeing 777 that had landed in Caracas the day before was there to spirit away 20 tons of gold from the vaults of the country’s central bank.

The claim set off a welter of social media speculation and outrage. When asked how he knew this, Guerra provided no evidence.

Opposition leader of Venezuela Juan Guaidó delivers a speech during a demonstration on January 26, 2019 in Caracas, Venezuela (Marco Bello/Getty Images)

Just another outlandish comment from a lawmaker trying to draw attention to the plight of crisis-torn Venezuela? Perhaps not. For one thing, Guerra is a former central bank economist who remains in touch with old colleagues there. For another, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg News Tuesday that 20 tons of gold have been set aside in the central bank for loading.